


But Darling

by absbartlet



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9158269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absbartlet/pseuds/absbartlet
Summary: CJ Cregg, a professor of communications, is unsatisfied with her life as a recent divorcée. At a faculty holiday party, she meets Abbey Bartlet, a warm woman with a desire to find spontaneity in her orderly life as a professor of medicine. Will the two women fulfill each other's cravings for new adventures? AU.





	

Abbey looked at the array of white and red wines that sat on the kitchen counter. The chatter of the party she'd just arrived to was already giving her a headache.

 

CJ walked over and looked at the wines, taking one of the reds and pouring a glass.

 

“Is that good stuff?” Abbey asked her.

 

“Well. It's wine.” She laughed and put the bottle down. “I'm CJ Cregg. Communications department chair.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Abbey said and shook her hand. “Abbey Barrington. Professor of Medicine.” Once she greeted her, she poured a small amount of wine, just enough to have a taste and appear to fit in among the rest of the party.

 

“I wasn't aware there'd be STEM faculty here, but I'm glad you could make it.”

 

Abbey shrugged. “Ellie Bartlet invited me, she's a student of mine. She's friends with Donna Moss? I told her our administration no longer lets us host a party on campus, so she invited me here.”

 

“Ellie Bartlet?” CJ asked, stepping out of the way when another professor wanted to get to the wine table. She walked with Abbey into the den and took a seat on the couch. Abbey sat in the chair across from her. “Ellie is Jed Bartlet's daughter, have you met him? He teaches political science.”

 

“I haven't,” Abbey said. “But she always mentions him, he sounds like a very nice man.”

 

“I didn't think he was planning on coming tonight. I hope he does, he'll liven this place up even more,” CJ noted, sipping her wine. Abbey's attention turned to the group of professors drinking wine, yelling back and forth about the election.

 

Abbey sighed. “I don't know why they shout if they all agree with one another.” 

 

“Ineffective communication.” CJ smirked.

 

“I've said hello to everyone now... I might head home. This isn't quite as social as I thought it would be. I'm not a fan of politics.”

 

“Then run. Before Jed Bartlet gets here.”

 

As Abbey finished her wine and rose from the chair, CJ watched her. “Abbey?”

 

“Yes?” She smiled.

 

“Would you like to go get some hot chocolate or something? It might be nice to talk crap about the school administration in a place that's not hosting a debate.”

 

Abbey looked at her watch before nodding. “I'd love to. Do you know a place?”

 

“There's a Starbucks if you turn left out of the neighborhood. It's about two miles up the road.”

 

“Great! I'll say goodbye to Donna and I'll meet you there.”

  
  
  
  


It was half past eight when Abbey arrived at the Starbucks. She ordered herself a drink, then sat with CJ. “Thank you for waiting. I got caught up with Donna, she just wouldn’t let me go.”

 

CJ leaned back in her chair and crossed one knee over the other as she laughed. “That’s how she gets when she helps Ellie Bartlet set up her father with other faculty members.”

 

“You think she’s trying to set me up with her father?” She asked, and CJ nodded. “Well! I- I- I don’t date!”

 

“You certainly don’t have to date him,” CJ said, watching Abbey throw a small fit in her head. Abbey put her arms on the back of her chair, resting her head on her fingers. “I can’t believe I didn’t even notice.”

 

CJ let her have her moment of disbelief, then changed the topic. “Do you have plans for Christmas?”

 

“Oh, relax during this break from things to grade. Maybe go see lights in a few neighborhoods. I love Christmas decorations. The ones with the lights that play along with the radio,” Abbey replied. “How about you?”

 

“Oh... I'm planning to see some movies.”

 

“That sounds nice. Any in particular?”

 

“I want to see Carol first.”

 

“Carol,” Abbey repeated thoughtfully. She nodded. “What's it about?”

 

“It takes place in the 1950s, it's about a woman named Carol and she falls in love with a young woman named Therese. Of course, it was the '50s, that wasn't a very acceptable thing.”

 

Abbey smiled and stood up, tossing her empty cup in the trash before sitting again. “Why don't we go see it? Is it playing tonight?” 

 

“Um...” CJ pulled up the movie theater’s site on her phone and quickly searched for the showtimes, her chest fluttering as she did. “Yes, at 9:40.”

 

Abbey glanced at her watch. “We have time to make it. I'll buy the tickets if you buy popcorn.”

  
CJ stood up a little too quickly and left in an excited shuffle with Abbey, thrilled to be having a night that as of yet, had been anything but boring. On a typical evening, CJ would spend hours alone on her couch, watching television, or browsing through movies. Ever since her divorce, she'd been aching to find something new to pursue. Perhaps a friendship with a smart and witty woman like Abbey was precisely what she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some kudos or a comment if you liked it! I'm considering writing a fanfiction update everyday through my 18th birthday (in about 6 months)... So we shall see! Feel free to send me fic prompts/requests/comments on my tumblr (sondsheim). Thanks so much for reading!


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